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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28793547">It’s Complicated</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/melody_1026/pseuds/melody_1026'>melody_1026</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, First Kiss, Injury, One Shot, One-Sided Jin/Zuko, Slight Self Victim Blaming, Young Love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:41:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,304</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28793547</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/melody_1026/pseuds/melody_1026</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Uncle Iroh meant well, but Zuko’s date with Jin was destined to fail from the start. A look into the past then flash forward to “Tales of Ba Sing Se”.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mai/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>It’s Complicated</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters nor do I profit from this work. I am just having fun.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    <b><em>Fire Nation Royal Palace Medical Center</em></b></p>
<p><br/>
Those first few days blurred together, Zuko’s only reality a barely conscious mix of pain, fever dreams, and the frantic whispers of healers hovering over him. Through the haze of drugs in his system, he heard the sighs of relief as they suspected they’d saved his eyesight. He heard the worried doubts that he’d ever hear properly out of his scorched ear. And finally, he heard the resigned declaration that there was little else they could do. He would live, but nothing could prevent the scarring. He was bandaged up and sent off to the recovery wing. <br/>
<br/>
It was not until the drugs filtered out of his system that he realized the mercy he had been receiving at the hands of the healers. The pain was relentless, feeling as though the flames were still there searing through his flesh. He might have thought this was the worst pain imaginable, if it weren’t the arrival of an official notice bearing the Firelord’s royal seal.</p>
<p><br/>
<em>Dishonored. Weak. A disgrace to his father’s good name. Banished. No longer welcome in his own home or country. </em>It is a pain one cannot even imagine without experiencing it firsthand. As his uncle left his side to make preparations for Zuko’s departure, it was all Zuko could do to keep the weight of it all from completely crushing him. The avatar? A seemingly impossible task if Zuko’s tutors were to be believed. They were all of the opinion that the avatar was gone for good. Zuko felt like he was sinking, his only lifeline impossibly out of reach, desperate for air, or in his case, any shred of hope. <em>Dishonored. Weak. A disgrace. Banished. Dishonored. Weak. A disgrace...</em></p>
<p>Zuko suddenly gasped in a huge gulp of air as it registered that someone was shaking him. Apparently, he had been hyperventilating. Embarrassed, he opened his eyes expecting to see his uncle. To his surprise, he was instead met with a feminine face, her soft, black tresses framing her delicate features and worried eyes.</p>
<p>”Mai?” </p>
<p>Mai averted her eyes, quickly schooling her features back into her normal, disinterested expression. “Azula wasn’t exaggerating, I see. Your father really did a number on you.”</p>
<p>With a strange desire to defend his father’s actions, Zuko shrugged and said, ”Well, to be honest, I probably deserved much worse. I brought this on myself.”</p>
<p>If Zuko wasn’t mistaken, a glint of anger flashed in her eyes. Maybe Mai wasn’t the expressionless blank slate he’d always assumed her to be. He must have never looked closely enough to notice. And since when have her eyes been so pretty? </p>
<p>”What are you staring at?”</p>
<p>”Nothing!” Zuko quickly looked anywhere but at her. Where in the world had <em>that</em> come from?</p>
<p>Mai rolled her eyes, “Idiot.” Her gaze softened slightly though, as she said, “I don’t have long. I don’t think my parents would approve if they knew where I was. But I had to see you before you left.” She reached into her pocket and produced a little note securely fastened with one of her old hair ribbons. “Here,” she slipped it into his hand, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to write you, so no promises. Take care of yourself, Zuko.”</p>
<p>She turned to leave, but her hand hesitated on the door handle. Zuko was about to ask her if something was wrong when she turned and rushed back to Zuko’s bed. His question was stopped dead in its tracks as her lips were suddenly pressed against his. It was soft and brief, over before Zuko could fully process what was happening. He barely caught sight of the blush spreading across her face before she bolted, slamming the door shut behind her.</p>
<p>Zuko was left staring at the door. A blush slowly started creeping into his own cheeks as the shock wore off and his brain caught up to what had just happened. His fist tightened around her letter, the crinkling of paper reminding him of its existence. He looked down at the letter in curiosity, carefully pulling the ribbon to open the mysterious little note.</p>
<p>
  <em>Zuko,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I know I am not the best at communicating my feelings, but I hope you know that I have always held you in the highest regard. I know you are a fighter. If anyone can find a way back home, you can. I truly believe that someday I will see your safe return. I am betting on you. Don’t disappoint me.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>                                       Mai</em>
</p>
<p>Gripping that letter to his chest, Zuko felt something flicker to life inside him. Maybe there was an inkling of hope for him after all.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em><br/>
<b>                       Three years later</b> </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>                   Ba Sing Se, Lower Ring</b></em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zuko tried; he really did. He knew his uncle had only the best intentions in setting up this date. For some reason, Uncle just did not understand why Zuko couldn’t afford to form bonds here in this city. To do so would be to give up. It would be settling for a life that he knew would never make him happy. His whole existence for the past three years has been dedicated to the fight to regain his honor. What would he have left if he resigned himself to his failure?</p>
<p>But, of course, none of that was Uncle’s fault. He was only concerned with Zuko’s happiness. So as pointless as this whole outing was, Zuko tried.</p>
<p>It wasn’t the girl’s fault either. She was great actually, much more forgiving of his awkwardness than most would have been. Pretty too - as obtuse as he sometimes seemed he wasn’t blind. If he were another man, he could see the appeal of settling down with a girl like her. He wasn’t just any other man though. He was Prince Zuko. But, again, none of that was the girl’s fault. So he tried.</p>
<p>Zuko didn’t think much of his decision to light the candles for Jin. He thought it would make her happy, so he did it. It was a risk, but it was the least he could do after how kind she had been to him. <br/>
<br/>
Apparently she thought much more of his small gesture than he did. She was looking at him as though he’d moved the world for her. Even shoving a tea coupon in her face didn’t phase her. But when she asked him to close his eyes, he complied. To refuse would seem rude considering he’d just demanded the same of her. </p>
<p>As he somewhat expected to happen, he soon felt a soft pair of lips pressing into his own. What he didn’t expect to happen, though, was the onslaught of emotion that flooded through his soul. It all rushed back. The soft black veil of hair that cascaded around him as that shy kiss was briefly pressed against his lips. The pink blush dusting her cheeks, highlighting her beautiful eyes. He found that he wished he’d been able to reciprocate. Zuko jolted back to reality as he realized, to his horror, that he <em>was</em> reciprocating. But this wasn’t Mai, and it all felt terribly wrong.</p>
<p><br/>
Utterly ashamed, Zuko jumped back and turned to bolt, but her plea for an explanation made him pause. He felt terrible. It wasn’t Jin’s fault he could never be the man she wanted him to be. And it wasn’t her fault that she wasn’t the woman he apparently wanted her to be. This whole thing was doomed from the start, and to go any further with it would be terribly disingenuous and unfair to them both. But how could he express that to her without sounding harsh or condescending? When no proper solution presented itself, he gave her the only explanation he could think of before running away. Insufficient surely, perhaps even cowardly, but the best he could do.</p>
<p>”It’s complicated.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for checking out my story. If you’d like, I would love to hear your thoughts on it. I always appreciate any feedback you can offer. I hope you have a wonderful day and, again, thanks!</p></blockquote><div class="children module" id="children">
  <b class="heading">Works inspired by this one:</b>
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        <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29123823">It's Complicated (Podfic)</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisIsTheDungeonThatNeverEnds/pseuds/FamiliarBoomerang">FamiliarBoomerang (ThisIsTheDungeonThatNeverEnds)</a>
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